Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in | USA Today/SaintsWire

AsylumGuido · 03-03-2021, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by Boston Saint

The league likes to claim that the average players career is 3.3 years. At 1700 players (32 x 53) that means the league must import 515 players a year to maintain stability. So, somehow those numbers don’t add up. If we go with the 650 mentioned earlier, then 515/650 sure isn’t 35 percent. So either the claim of a 3.3 career average is wrong, or a lot more than 35% of rookies make the league.

It would have to be the average length of a career, because it is absolutely verifiable the number of rookies drafted and signed as UDFA's every year and also make the opening day roster. However, what isn't included is the number of rookies that are picked up during the season. Practice squads are continuously evolving all season long.

Another possible factor is that a rookie signed to a 90 man roster and cut and never resigned has a career length of zero which is factored into the overall number. With that in mind an average career of 3.3 years makes perfect sense. If only 246 of 650 signed rookies made the week one roster in 2020 it means that 404 2020 rookies potentially had careers of zero years.

View Poll Results: After three seasons, what grade do you give the Saints for the 2018 Draft Haul?
A	1	7.69%
B	3	23.08%
C	2	15.38%
D	5	38.46%
F	2	15.38%
Voters: 13. You may not vote on this poll

03-03-2021, 12:31 PM	#11
AsylumGuido 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bossier City, LA Posts: 26,492	Re: Grading the 2018 Saints draft class, three years in \| USA Today/SaintsWire Originally Posted by Boston Saint The league likes to claim that the average players career is 3.3 years. At 1700 players (32 x 53) that means the league must import 515 players a year to maintain stability. So, somehow those numbers don’t add up. If we go with the 650 mentioned earlier, then 515/650 sure isn’t 35 percent. So either the claim of a 3.3 career average is wrong, or a lot more than 35% of rookies make the league. It would have to be the average length of a career, because it is absolutely verifiable the number of rookies drafted and signed as UDFA's every year and also make the opening day roster. However, what isn't included is the number of rookies that are picked up during the season. Practice squads are continuously evolving all season long. Another possible factor is that a rookie signed to a 90 man roster and cut and never resigned has a career length of zero which is factored into the overall number. With that in mind an average career of 3.3 years makes perfect sense. If only 246 of 650 signed rookies made the week one roster in 2020 it means that 404 2020 rookies potentially had careers of zero years. Boston Saint likes this.
	“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill